A downstate man who wore Revolutionary War garb to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, stole a shield from a retreating police officer and then joined the crowd outside the U.S. House chamber as members sheltered inside has been sentenced to 2 ½ months behind bars.
Derek Nelson, 31, of Danville pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols in Washington, D.C., that an “indelible” image of Nelson and a companion appearing as “willing foot soldiers of chaos” crystallized the harm caused “to the perceived stability of our republic.”
Nelson’s defense attorneys insist his head “was full of nonsense, discontent, and conspiracy theories” in 2021, but is now “squarely focused on his love of God and family, respect for the rule of law, and regret for his actions.”
Nelson is among nearly 50 known Illinois residents who have faced federal criminal charges in connection with the attack on the Capitol, which interrupted the Electoral College vote count and triggered a massive criminal investigation.
Prosecutors say Nelson was joined at the Capitol by Derek Dodder of Nevada. The feds say the men are former Marines, though prosecutors characterized Nelson’s separation from the military as “other than honorable.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, Nelson wore a colonial blue peacoat, a tricorn hat and a white scarf. His Chicago-based defense attorneys — Todd Pugh, Chelsy Van Overmeiren and Jonathan Brayman — say he’s been a participant in Live Action Role Playing events such as Renaissance fairs and Civil War reenactments.
But on the day of the riot, when someone asked him why he and others in colonial attire were there, Nelson replied, “To start a revolution. Why are you here?”
Nelson and Dodder also brought respirators and goggles to the Capitol and put them on as police began to deploy chemical spray.
Nelson joined the mob as it worked to breach the Capitol. At one point, he crossed paths with a retreating officer holding a riot shield, grabbed the shield and lowered his shoulder in an attempt to body-check it. The officer dropped the shield and Nelson helped get it into the hands of another rioter.
Nelson and Dodder later entered the Capitol at 2:16 p.m., records show. They made their way to the Rotunda, where they laughed and celebrated — and where Nelson raised his middle finger.
They left to make their way to the House chamber, but along the way they stopped to look out a window at officers below. Nelson told Dodder, “Hurt ‘em. We hurt ‘em boys.”
The men then spent at least 10 minutes outside the House chamber. They donned their respirators and goggles when police deployed tear gas.
They remained inside the building until 3:04 p.m.
Nelson’s defense attorneys say he married in 2022 and has now “been reborn” into a new family. They argued that “millions of Americans thought the 2020 presidential election was rigged by voter fraud” on Jan. 6, 2021, and Nelson was among those who had been “lured by a guileless but misguided sense of patriotism.”